Old Kent Road Regeneration – Development & Investment Guide 2026

Old Kent Road regeneration is one of London's largest long-term urban development programmes. Located in the London Borough of Southwark, the regeneration area extends broadly from Bricklayers Arms towards the Lewisham boundary, with plans to transform extensive industrial and commercial land into new mixed-use neighbourhoods while retaining and intensifying employment uses.

Southwark Council's emerging Old Kent Road Area Action Plan (AAP) is considerably more ambitious than the minimum capacity in the current London Plan. The AAP proposes around 20,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs, together with new parks, community facilities, improvements to the high street and potentially new Underground stations associated with a future Bakerloo line extension.

For developers, landowners and investors assessing opportunities around Old Kent Road, FraserBond.com can assist with London development acquisitions, site appraisal, investment, joint ventures, development finance advisory and arranging, and property management.

Where Is the Old Kent Road Regeneration Area?

Old Kent Road is in Southwark, South-East London, running south-east from the Elephant and Castle/Bricklayers Arms area towards New Cross.

The Opportunity Area extends roughly:

Bricklayers Arms → Old Kent Road → South Bermondsey → New Cross/Lewisham boundary

Southwark officers described the Opportunity Area in January 2026 as extending from Bricklayers Arms to the borough boundary with Lewisham and northwards towards the railway viaduct at South Bermondsey.

Its proximity to Elephant and Castle, Bermondsey, Peckham, New Cross and central London makes the corridor strategically significant for development.

What Is Planned for Old Kent Road?

Southwark Council's current regeneration vision includes approximately:

• 20,000 new homes
• 10,000 new jobs
• Affordable housing
• New parks and open spaces
• Community facilities
• Improved pedestrian routes
• Better cycling infrastructure
• A revitalised high street
• New and intensified workspace
• Potential Bakerloo line extension
• Potential new Underground stations

The objective is not simply to construct housing. The council intends to create a mixed-use urban district where homes, businesses, industry, retail and community infrastructure coexist.

Old Kent Road Area Action Plan

The Old Kent Road Area Action Plan is the key planning document shaping the area's long-term development.

The draft AAP was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in November 2025 for independent examination. As of September 2026, the examination process is continuing and Southwark is consulting on Main Modifications to the draft plan.

The plan is intended to guide development over approximately the next 20 years.

For developers, this is particularly important because the AAP addresses matters including:

Land Use + Housing + Employment + Building Heights + Transport + Public Realm + Infrastructure + Open Space

Individual development sites still require assessment against the applicable planning framework and their particular circumstances.

20,000 New Homes on Old Kent Road

One of the headline objectives is approximately 20,000 new homes.

This is higher than the 12,000-home indicative capacity currently identified for Old Kent Road in the London Plan 2021. The London Plan also identifies indicative capacity for 5,000 jobs, whereas Southwark's more detailed AAP strategy targets 10,000 new jobs.

The difference reflects the more detailed local planning work undertaken for the corridor.

The housing programme is expected to include a mixture of private and affordable homes.

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing forms a significant part of the regeneration strategy.

City Hall reports that approximately 36% of homes completed within the Opportunity Area since its designation have been affordable housing.

For developers, affordable housing requirements can have a substantial effect on development viability.

A realistic land appraisal therefore needs to consider affordable housing alongside:

GDV → Construction → Planning Obligations → Infrastructure → Finance → Developer Return → Residual Land Value

A high-density consent does not necessarily produce a high residual land value if the scheme carries substantial development obligations.

10,000 New Jobs

The regeneration strategy also aims to deliver approximately 10,000 additional jobs.

This is important because Old Kent Road contains substantial existing industrial and employment activity.

The regeneration strategy is therefore not based simply on replacing commercial premises with apartments.

Southwark intends to intensify employment space and create mixed-use environments in which housing can coexist with businesses and industry.

For developers, this can create opportunities involving genuinely mixed-use schemes rather than conventional residential-only development.

Old Kent Road Industrial Land

Industrial land is one of the defining characteristics of the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area.

The London Plan notes that the area contains Southwark's remaining significant Strategic Industrial Locations, despite being relatively close to the Central Activities Zone. It calls for industrial land to be intensified and, where land is released, for housing to be co-located with industrial or wider commercial uses.

This creates potentially innovative development models.

Instead of:

Industrial Building → Demolition → Apartments

a scheme might involve:

Workspace/Industrial Ground Floors + Residential Above

Such projects require careful consideration of servicing, noise, access, ventilation, fire safety and residential amenity.

Bakerloo Line Extension and Old Kent Road

The proposed Bakerloo line extension is closely associated with the long-term Old Kent Road regeneration strategy.

The AAP allows for a potential extension from Elephant and Castle towards Lewisham, with new stations serving the Old Kent Road corridor.

This would materially improve rail accessibility because much of Old Kent Road currently relies heavily on buses.

However, developers and investors should distinguish between a proposed future transport project and infrastructure that already exists.

Investment appraisals should not assume the Bakerloo line extension has already been delivered.

Old Kent Road Transport

Even without the proposed Underground extension, transport planning is central to the regeneration programme.

The AAP includes proposals for:

• Improved bus infrastructure
• Safer walking routes
• Better cycling connections
• New pedestrian links
• Public-realm improvements
• Potential future Underground stations

Southwark's strategy is intended to change Old Kent Road from a heavily traffic-oriented corridor into a more complete town-centre environment.

New Town Centre Environment

One of the most significant ambitions is to change the character of Old Kent Road itself.

The current corridor contains a mixture of:

Retail Warehouses + Industrial Estates + Workshops + Shops + Housing + Storage + Commercial Property

Regeneration is intended to introduce considerably more intensive mixed-use development.

The AAP envisages a new high-street environment supported by residential and commercial development behind Old Kent Road.

That transition can create opportunities for landowners whose existing property sits within an identified development cluster.

Old Kent Road Development Sites

Development opportunities around Old Kent Road can potentially include:

• Industrial sites
• Warehouses
• Retail warehouses
• Workshops
• Builders' yards
• Commercial property
• Existing residential buildings
• Mixed-use property
• Vacant or underused land
• Development sites with planning permission
• Land assemblies

Not every property within the Opportunity Area has the same development potential.

The AAP and supporting studies examine individual character areas and locations including Mandela Way, Ilderton Road, Latona Road, Catlin Street, Cantium Retail Park, Livesey Park and Six Bridges.

Old Kent Road Development Opportunity Areas

The corridor contains several distinct development environments rather than one continuous development site.

Areas receiving detailed planning and design work include:

Mandela Way

This area lies towards the northern end of the corridor, closer to Bricklayers Arms and central London.

Ilderton Road

The Ilderton Road corridor sits close to railway infrastructure and South Bermondsey and contains substantial redevelopment potential.

Six Bridges

This area involves existing industrial and infrastructure constraints, with Southwark having undertaken dedicated feasibility work.

Latona Road

Southwark published a dedicated Local Development Study for Latona Road in 2024.

Catlin Street

A specific feasibility study was produced for this location in 2024.

These studies demonstrate why investors should examine the precise planning context of an individual site rather than relying solely on the broader Old Kent Road regeneration designation.

Residential Development Opportunities

Old Kent Road can present opportunities for:

Build-to-Sell

Residential development followed by individual apartment sales.

Build-to-Rent

Development retained as a long-term rental investment.